"... and NOW she WAS sixteen"
In the book that I'm reading, there is the following passage...

"She was eight years old when she entered the Mission and now she was sixteen"

In this case, does the word "now" refer to "in that moment" or what?

Question

"... and NOW she WAS sixteen"
In the book that I'm reading, there is the following passage...

"She was eight years old when she entered the Mission and now she was sixteen"

In this case, does the word "now" refer to "in that moment" or what?

Answer

Yes, "now" refers to the time when the girl reached the age of sixteen. Presumably this will be followed by more information about what happened to when she was  sixteen.

Answer

Yes, "now" in that sentence refers to present time in the specific timeline in that book

Answer

The "now" reflects "in the moment at that time in the past".